Cat

Yeah, I hesitate to speak really badly of Cynthia because I think she is an ok person. Even though she's a little too lowkey for an All-Stars concept. Most of the other picks are definitely straight from an Andy Cohen internal memo. I was actually surprised Gizelle wasn't mentioned because he looooves her. Honestly, Karen and Gizelle should be included. I'm not bummed about Sonja as a choice because I love her, and I guess they figured 'Ramonja' are a pair even though they haven't been for years and people are over Ramona Singer generally. Ramona is going do absolutely ZIP in this spin-off except tan her ass in a macramé bikini. And still... Melissa and Kyle.

Weirdly, I had the opposite experience when I first got into soaps as a kid -- the California-set soaps (or even the ones filmed in LA) were the bright and glossy ones that drew me in quickly. I could not get into AMC, OLTL, AW or GL at first, because they seemed to be dark and shadowy, with so much layered history that I did not know and could not penetrate. ATWT was an exception --for some reason, Julianne Moore as Frannie and Sabrina drew me in. It was only as I got older, and became really interested in the soap genre as a whole, that I dipped into these other shows and realized that my initial view of them as impenetrable was completely wrong! In fact, the beauty of a great many soap operas was that you could literally tune in one day, cold, in the middle of some big climatic SL, not understanding what led up to this moment, but something indefinable draws you in. It could be an actress, an actor, or the set-up of the SL, or the drama itself, the sense of place and people, and suddenly... you are hooked. This soap you have just discovered has you intrigued and it is all you can think about for a while. YouTube and other sites in more recent years allowed me to discover eras on these shows that I had foolishly missed. I did not discover the glory of Another World until after its cancellation! I could kick myself for that.

Oh, and Bravo 'All-Stars,' you also include the thirstiest HW of all time (only in your wildest dreams, Rinna):

It's a really good show! It has the cosiness of classic British whodunnits like Miss Marple and Poirot, but with an edge.

Cynthia, Melissa, Kyle? Rinna? These peeps are 'all-stars' in nobody's mind but their own! Ugh. Why are they casting bores This cast should have been LVP, Nene, Vicki, Tamra and Bethenny (though she would never), to start. And you build from there. But they fired so many OGs in the last year that we are left with Melissa [!@#$%^&*] Gorga -- without her husband -- and Kyle doing the splits/helicopter ponytail.

Its a shame ATL didn't hit 2mn viewers because this was its best episode in about 5 years. MVPs were Marlo, Porsha and, I hate to say it, bitter ass Kenya doing the digging. Even though I hate that she is trying to catch Tanya in a lie. If Bravo has to pivot, where does it go from here? It is tied to these reality soaps. I am really enjoying the RH shows at the moment, I must admit. SLC, Dallas, NJ, and ATL, and M2M around the corner.... that's just my personal opinion. I'm not ready to say goodbye. But it's true that RH has lively passed the zeitgeist.

Karen & Ashley kiki-ing is a MOOD. And just like that, I am missing Potomac and hoping for a friendship to flourish between these two! With Monique gone (and Gizelle, Robyn and Candiace now allied together in hatred of Monique and Karen), it makes too much sense for KAshley not to have an alliance. Ashley was giving La Dame the compliments and turning on the charm.

That's a very moving article. Though I am not Japanese, nor do I live there, I can relate to living alone and having to manage anxiety tied to the pandemic and my job, my parents' welfare, and all that. I have found that having regular appointments on Zoom with friends has really helped, but I can see how in Japan, nobody wants to burden others with their feelings of depression. So they are less likely to confide in people. There is a stigma in talking about one's problems or worries openly.

Welp. Brandi certainly couched her goodbye statement in a whole lot of religiosity! Wonder if she's leaving because someone brought up the Bryan + affair = Bruin rumor, or whether this was always the plan and production just wanted to give her time to wrap up her story. Nothing in the last two episodes say to me that she is ready to leave and move on. If anything, she seems increasingly keen to participate in group dynamics.

Totally missed this.

NJ was 🔥 !!!! I am so glad it is back. As with RHONY, I feel a real affection for this cast, maybe because I grew up in MA and NY and they remind me of people I know. Danny Pellegrino's most recent podcast interviewed both Marge and Dolores, and they said that they loved pretty much everybody in the cast, despite everything that goes down on the show, and their husbands too. They have a tight circle (Dolores once worked for Bill Aydin way before Jennifer and he joined the show!) and, as Dolores put it, she would 'sit down with any of these women at Reunion' any day of the week. RHONJ has been very watchable since S8. It pivoted from the toxic family stuff and weird S6 transition, and found a good balance and cast mix. It struck me that everything we saw go down in this most recent episode has been building over the course of two prior seasons. The Teresa-Jackie rivalry in particular. Teresa was always going to be biding her time to get Jackie! I have a theory that Bravo gave Teresa Siggy's and Danielle's salaries on top of her own if she agreed to play villain this year. Teresa (who is in a good mood because she is getting the good D) said "No problem!" Teresa is all in on being the villain, and that, too, has been building the last year or two to this moment. The interesting thing is that, while Teresa is clearly in the wrong, and letting her hatred dictate her actions, Jackie's chance to play innocent victim went left. When she did that Gia analogy (and poor Gia's Twitter is now inundated with the most awful Tweets, SMH) and said "I WIN," it wasn't great. Anyhoo, this looks like a great rivalry, unfortunately with a shocking, damaging rumor at its heart. Oh, and this Tweet ETA: I haven't finished the SLC reunion Part 2 episode yet, so Fabulous Ice has yet to melt. However, I did watch the first 25 minutes, which featured Mary, including her admitting that she and her husband sleep in separate bedrooms. She got emotional at that point and her emotionality was authentic -- partly because she herself seemed shocked that she had admitted it on-air. I think the other women empathized with her at that moment. Mary is a master at moving the narrative where she wants it to go, and it is fun to see her outwit Jen, Lisa, Heather, Whitney, etc, at this reunion. Whitney and Meredith are lowkey nodding their heads and smiling at the way she got Jen and Lisa spinning. At the same time, she has this very disarming quality of admitting raw and truthful stuff, even if it doesn't present her in the best light. Unlike some of the other women who are hellbent on presenting themselves in the rosiest (though often most contrived) way. It is for this reason that Mary is my favourite on SLC.

Larsa was a flop in S1 of Miami, and she will be a flop again. In part because the Kardashians will have an NDA muzzling her by the time she films, but mainly because this Lost Kardashian Sister is SO dull, Kris Jenner didn't want to claim her at birth. She brought literally zero to RHOM the first time around and is so unpleasant that even Kourtney Kardashian wants nothing more to do with her. I am thrilled about Alexia. Adriana... eh. The fake marriage SL turned me off. Lisa was a bore. I'm bummed Lea Black wasn't asked back, but honestly Miami really needs to cast all new HWs. Most of the cast cannot see past Tiffany's face. If they stopped to listen to her, Kameron would realise that Tiffany has a quirky sense of humor that meshes really well with her own. Brandi and Stephanie would appreciate her jokes, too. But all they see is "CHINESE" and that makes them look down on her. They aren't directly dismissive to her face (with the exception of Kary) but they are smug and disdainful in their VTs. It is making them very unlikeable, and the more they carry on, the more I think there won't be a next season of this franchise. RHOA: So after dissing the last three seasons of Atlanta, I am changing my tune. The Isle of Palms episodes have been fun and involving! It's so funny seeing the frankly empty opening credits with only 5 RHs, but then on the Isle of Palms trip for every HW you also have a FOH! Marlo and Shamea and Tanya and Drew and Latoya and this pretty Falyn lady who says absolutely nothing. Drew should be holding a peach, btw. She is stirring it up and definitely wants to get in there. Some of these FOHs are more interesting than Eva Marcille, that's for sure. MVP has been Kandi. Kandi is not only organising the Porno Party Featuring Bolo's Big D!ck, but she is the voice of reason with all the women, and especially Kenya. Kenya has literally nobody who likes her, except for Kandi, who like a real friend, tells her the truth and not just what Kenya wants to hear. Kenya is the villain this season again and, honestly, it's like old times! I am comfortable with not being forced by either production or Kenya herself to sympathise with her, but I do enjoy that she keeps people riled up. She had me feeling bad for MARLO of all people! In conclusion: the chemistry of this show works best when they are all together and in a big group. The way they expressed their shock and anger after the Breonna Taylor verdict also felt real and present. I like that RHOA acknowledges that BLM and the pandemic exist and is part of their (and our) lives. I'm not sure Nene would have worked on this trip (and I say this as someone who was on the fence about Nene leaving). I think she would have been grumpy and stomping off and people would be running to try and beg Nene to participate. It would have been exhausting to watch.

Oh, I watched You're Welcome! It was the only episode in S5 that I did watch, and it was precisely because Charisma was returning -- hopefully back to the show, I thought at the time. She looked STUNNING. Her wavy hair and tan and curves and great wardrobe! Look, was Charisma Meryl Streep? No. But she was naturally funny with great chemistry with everyone and a good sarcastic line delivery. Her character went from Mean Girl to demon fighter. I could have done without her being a divine being -- the whole point about Cordelia was how grounded in reality she was, so all the heavenly stuff didn't chime right. That kind of neutered the character, but perhaps that was Joss's intention, since CC seemed to be his designated target. As you say, we all knew -- or rather felt -- that her firing was grossly unfair, especially for the reasons stated. But at that time, the agency of the fans was small -- it was, like, you take what we give you and be grateful to be watching the golden age of television. It was also just kind of accepted in the 80s and 90s that if an actress got pregnant, that might be the borderline legal reason for firing her. The internet was in its infancy and so the ability to marshal criticism or outrage or ask direct questions of TPTB was limited. LOL! I watched her on Veronica Mars too! We used to be friends... I didn't have JW on a pedestal, though I did admire, at the time, his ability to turn a WB/CW teen show into something that meant much more than that, a show which had the power to move and touch its audience with some great characters. Angel S4 and Buffy S6/S7 was when I started thinking maybe he was burnt out. I never got into the Avengers movies. I sort of realised early on that JW was beloved mainly because of his snappy, talky, hyper-pop-culture-referencing dialogue and that's fine but it's not the end-all and be-all of greatness. Charisma's statement was perfect and honest and thoughtful and just how I imagine her to be as a person. You know who ponied up his love and support right away? J. August Richard (Gunn on Angel). I thought his Tweet was warm and meaningful. I do think David Boreanaz, for all his faults and transgressions, liked Charisma a lot and knew what was going on then and now, and he supported her then and now. I think something big is coming down the pipe regarding Joss too. It may be in the Justice League investigation regarding the re-shoots, and I bet locking Gal Gadot in a room and threatening her career might be one of those things.

The Gorgas totally got off easy. Melissa tried to get on the show via Danielle Staub. Then she and Joe just went direct to the Bravo producers with a show reel. It was Attack Teresa from the get-go. They broke the Gorga parents' hearts in the process. Was it even worth it? Also, I don't think Kathy's mother and Giacinto Gorga ever reconciled before they passed. The RHOA teasers left me open mouthed. I've never seen them be this upfront on a RH show. The 4th wall-breaking teaser took me straight back to S9 RHOA -- Phaedra whispering that Kandi and Shamea had a thing, and Kandi saying that Porsha was an 'aggressive lesbian.' We'd only ever heard about it -- now we might be seeing it.

HOLY S*** those are some racy RHOA PREVIEWS Is that Shamea Kandi puts her arm around in the second one?

I agree with you. This isn't a great look for Tiffany, mainly because its so random and out of nowhere. Why cry about something which has nothing to do with you? Tiffany should not be fighting D'Andra's battles. This is between Kary and D'Andra exclusively. You know what? I don't blame any of the Wakiles for feeling this way. Kathy and her family were done so dirty by the Gorgas. I can sort of see why Teresa might view Kathy as unforgiveable, because a lot was said which was incredibly personal... but Joe and Melissa used the Wakiles as part of a united front against Teresa. When they saw it wasn't winning them fans, and when the show pivoted towards its current iteration, they ghosted the entire Wakile family in order to kiss Teresa's ass and stay on TV. I really enjoy Joe Gorga but this is the truth. To dump family like this after they helped you get your story across to the nation/world was hella cold.

Preview time! RHOD: RHONJ:

I was in high school.

Thanks! That's a nice reply from Charisma. She must have known he was getting some heat on social media, too.

Oh HEY Seth Marks from back in the day

Thanks for the update! I'm glad. During the EW Angel reunion, CC was seated next to him. They seemed to have a friendly and positive working relationship, judging by their interaction and comments.

RHOBH 2014 was the season of Witchy Poo and Joyce. And yet they jettisoned Christine? 🤔 Bravo is SF dumb sometimes.

I feel like those Grayson Hall clips from Dark Shadows are like a 2-minute ad for Valium (which was flying off the shelves at that time). I was just talking about Ronn Moss on another thread and... well... he deserves a spot here, I think!

I feel like the Joss Whedon story (if you can call it that) still has further to run -- largely because of the number of people who are staying studiously silent about it. At some point, will Alyson Harrigan, David Boreanaz, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof speak? I hope they do, honestly. During spring lockdown, I rewatched the Buffy series from S1 to part of S6 (couldn't bring myself to do S7), and this winter I have now moved onto Angel. I am about to watch S4, which is the season Joss publicly humiliated Charisma Carpenter for getting pregnant, destroyed her character, and damn near tanked the show as a whole. I haven't watched it since it originally aired (2002?) and indeed, it was such a shitshow that I never ended up watching S5. Charisma was true to her name and it always shocked me that she never made it big elsewhere. Well, now we pretty much know why. I remember Joss was largely absolved (on the newly emerging online fanboards) of destroying this character and, very nearly, his spin-off show. Fans didn't want to blame the 'genius' who created and wrote a show that meant so much to them. The blame was laid squarely at Charisma's feet for 'falling pregnant' and 'not telling her bosses' until she was some ways along. This came directly from interviews given by Whedon (but interestingly, I do not recall David Greenwalt, his co-writer, opining in such annoyed, angry tones -- I wonder what he made of CC and the character of Cordelia being dismantled this way. He was apparently the one who championed bringing Cordelia over to the spin-off). It was clear CC was being blamed as the one at fault, the 'unprofessional, sloppy' actress who could not be relied upon to do her job. It is awful how that tag basically hung over her for the rest of her career. And that's another reason why I want JW to continue being exposed. Because it keeps a foot on his neck, especially as this is clearly not a one-off, but a pattern. I'm sorry it took not just Ray Fisher but RF and Charisma Carpenter to get people talking about this.

That's too bad -- only from the POV of getting to see Dale Mercer again lol! But I get that Chicago has its own vibe, mix and history which needs to be established independently. The location is as much a character on these shows as the RHs. Watching SLC on my Amazon Prime account, and they have one of Jen's talking heads as the main pic on the page. Someone at Amazon must really hate her, because it is THE most unflattering screen shot ever. Jen literally has no neck in it. As for deep sixing Jen, perhaps you are right. Perhaps letting go of Jen will allow the other women to bloom. I worry that Bravo has put alllll its chips on Jen Shah as 'queen bee and MVP' of the group. Which IMO has been a mistake, in that it has come at the expense of the rest of the cast, and the audience aren't feeling it either.